Newbie... Please be gentle with me. NOW WITH PICS!

[sammyk]

Hello all my name is Sam, and me and my wife Gemma have become Beardi parents. We have 2 called JD and Turk, we are told they are about 3-4 months old. Now we took advice before getting them and I did some research on the WWW, we went to our local pet store and did the deed. Very friendly people there and they gave us good advice as to keeping them, only thing they couldn't do is sex them, which could require separating them when they are older. What I am finding though, is the more I try to find out about them the more conflicting information I find. The 2 main issues we have are the use of a heat mat.... good/not good..... Also eating. They look to be eating about 10 small crickets a day each, which I am told is not enough. It seems that they will only take water by me dropping it on there snout, I can't watch them all day so they maybe drinking on there own but I'm not sure. All feedback greatly appreciated.

 

[AndyT]

I can try to resolve those issues. Heat mats ARE bad(for beardies). Beardies do not sense heat from below, they sense it from above, therefore they can be burned by the heat mat without even knowing it. It would be best for you to just turn it off and not take any risks. As for the crickets, every beardie has different eating habits, and there is no set number of crickets that should be fed. That said, these are voracious little eaters, and you would be surprised at how much they can consume. If you can feed more, feed more; if you can't, don't freak out. A guideline for feeding these guys (as babies) is feed them 3 times a day, as much as they will eat in 15 minutes each time. How long are they? We may be able to estimate their age if you can give us some measurements. We love pictures here. PLease ask any more questions that you have, that's what we are here for!

Andy

 

[nair88]

welcome! sounds like andy pretty much covered it

 

[tedrickrumohr]

He pretty much covered it, haha. That said... Pictures!

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Welcome to your new addiction.
The site has a good caresheet on it.
The reason your getting conflicting info is because there are so many ways to do the same thing.
I have a caresheet on my website as well. I dont claim to know it all, but I put in there the things that work for me.

 

[sammyk]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I have posted some pictures, hope you like my new mates! They seem to be enjoying the worms that are in the tub with the crickets, rather than the crickets themselves...... Can they feed on worms instead of crickets? The heat mat is out and, I measured them to be around 6-7 inches snout to tail, any ideas as to there age?

They know it's coming. Feeding time!

Staying warm.

There house.

 

[tedrickrumohr]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I have posted some pictures, hope you like my new mates! They seem to be enjoying the worms that are in the tub with the crickets, rather than the crickets themselves...... Can they feed on worms instead of crickets? The heat mat is out and, I measured them to be around 6-7 inches snout to tail, any ideas as to there age?

They know it's coming. Feeding time!

Staying warm.

There house.

Where did you get the critter condo?

 

[sammyk]

It was from my local pet store.... UK though , a little town called Stanwell near London.

 

[AndyT]

The UK has all the best vivs :evil: What kind of worms are you feeding?

 

[sammyk]

I have no idea.... Not feeding them deliberatly, I think they are to sustain the crickets whilst waiting to be sold?????? When feeding I put the tub in the viv and knock the crickets out as they eat them, but the dragons just keep running round the tub trying to get to these worm things and lose intrest in the crickets. If I dont let them eat the worm things, then they eat very little (almost in protest)! Not sure what to do.

 

[AndyT]

Hmm I've never heard of that. Could you post pics of the worms?

 

[luvanimals]

The worms are probably cleaner beetle larvae. They're meant to eat the dead crickets and poop and no I would not allow your beardies to eat them. They can eat other worms though! Phoenix worms, silk worms and small hornworms are all good choices. Although this may reduce their interest in crickets :wink: Your viv is awesome but I would do away with the sand. It's just too risky (can cause impaction, especially in baby beardies) and there are so many other alternatives. Unfinished tile is a popular choice around here, I use paper towels LOL. Oh and make sure to remove any uneaten crickets before bedtime as they can inflict some nasty bites on a sleeping beardie. Anyway, good luck to you and welcome to the forums. There's lots of good info here.

Forgot to add that most beardies don't lap up their water. That's why it's important to give them regular baths (if they don't do it themselves like mine) because, well...they can drink through their butt too :|

 

[AndyT]

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=132151 - Read that. Its a good post about the badness of sand.

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Hello & Welcome to BD.org!

Cute beardies you have. :love5:

They may not be eating much due to relocation stress...once they settle in they should eat better providing your temps, UVB/lighting, and distance from UVB are correct.

I agree do not let them eat those nasty little black poop eaters.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

:wave: